Press Releases

Luzerne County, PA - Today, Congressman Matt Cartwright (PA-o8) announced two federal grants that will enhance the work of first responders in the boroughs of Kingston and Avoca in Luzerne County.

The two grants total $84,545.45, and will be awarded in the following way:

• The municipality of Kingston will receive $45,545.45 to purchase 16 new sets of turnout gear, to replace the old, substandard, and expired end-of-life gear, and to reduce the risk of injury to responders;
• And the Avoca Volunteer Fire Department will receive $38,000 to purchase 3 source capture exhaust systems, which will remove toxic vehicle exhaust from their fire building in order to keep the firefighters, EMS squad, and community safe.

“Our brave firefighters and other emergency personnel make sacrifices every day to keep us safe, so we must do what we can to do the same for them,” said Rep. Cartwright, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program continues to be a critical resource to firefighters and communities in Northeastern Pennsylvania.”

Both grants will be awarded through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG) and will be distributed via the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The purpose of FEMA’s AFG program is to award competitive grants directly to fire departments to enhance their ability to protect the health and safety of the public, as well as that of first-responder personnel. Since 2001, the AFG program has provided over $7 billion in grants to first-responder organizations to obtain much-needed emergency response equipment, personal protective equipment, firefighting and emergency vehicles, and training.